Was Bayonetta Nerfed too hard in Smash Bros Ultimate?

With Super Smash Bros Ultimate thriving so well, many have left Smash 4 memories in the past. However, nothing from Smash 4 has been left in the past like Bayonetta has. Bayonetta was added to the Smash 4 roster as DLC in early 2016 and immediately shot up the tier list. She was the best character in the game by a wide margin and quickly became hated by a majority of the community. Top players began picking her up and producing great tournament results with her. There was a huge rift within the community surrounding the character. Bans were considered, EVO 2018 happened and things were a bit of a mess. Luckily Smash Ultimate was there to save the day, offering a new hope for the Smash Community. Many Characters were retooled from Smash 4, and Bayonetta was no exception.

We all expected Bayonetta to get nerfed but Sakurai did not have to snap like he did. Bayonetta got hit hard by nerfs and definitely isn’t the same. While that is a good thing, she now has some pretty big problems that need addressing . Bayonetta did need to be nerfed, but the question is, was she nerfed too hard?

New Game, New Me

First off lets state the obvious, Smash 4 Bayonetta was absolutely broken. The entire concept of a character like Bayonetta in smash is kind of silly when you really think about it. In a a game where you can be KO’d based on position on the map and not just damage alone, Bayonetta is downright unfair. Her kit gives her the ability to not only carry opponents to the blast zone at almost any percent, but also the ability to virtually fly around the map and recover from almost any distance. No other character can do things similar to what Smash 4 Bayonetta can do, and that’s why she was broken. Yes there was counter-play, but it was always an uphill battle fighting her. With that said,Smash Ultimate Bayonetta is pretty well balanced, aside from a few minor grievances.

Her specials don’t link into each other as easily anymore which is fair. A lot of her B&B combo starters are gone, and her ability to take opponents to the skies is still there but much harder to achieve consistently. The most important change made to her is the big nerf that witch time received. Smash 4 Witch Time could lead to a kill at 0 percent given the proper positioning. Smash Ultimate Witch Time doesn’t last nearly as long and won’t even lead to a full charged Smash attack anymore, which is a much needed change.

The change that might be a touch too far is her aerials. other than Back air Bayonetta really cant kill with some of her best aerials. Down air near the ledge at higher percents can still get the job done, but they absolutely butchered her up air. Even at extremely high percents it often won’t be enough to close out a stock. This combined with the nerfs to her specials, and her other normal weaknesses, and she can sometimes struggle to find a kill. Now these aren’t huge issues but the next set of problems makes things even worse for the Umbra Witch.

Still Broken

Bayonetta still has broken moves, but not the good kind. There are often times where certain moves won’t link into each other when they’re supposed to. Moves like her up tilt will fail to connect with opponents in situations when it should. Down tilt will straight up not hit an opponent when it clearly connected. There are several examples of this online and testimonies from pro Bayonetta players. These all seem like mistakes rather than purposeful inclusions and need to be fixed. I’m all for nerfing her unfair advantages but for her to straight up not function properly sometimes is just cruel. In a game as precise as Smash, you can’t afford to have your character botch a move on you mid match.

Overall Bayonetta was nerfed hard, but justifiably so. Even with some of her aerials being much weaker she still has potential to make some noise in Ultimate and top players have already been making a splash with her. So no Bayonetta doesn’t need to be buffed, but she does need to be fixed. Forward Tilt needs to work properly, and the same goes for up and down tilt. Bayonetta is as honest as she’s ever been in Smash ultimate, and it’d be a shame if a few non functioning moves held her back.

What do you think about Bayonetta in Smash Bros Ultimate? Be sure to let us know in the comments down Below!